1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to an in-vehicle alert device that alerts a driver with the use of a display apparatus when an alert object, to which the driver must be alert, is detected around a host vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
As proposed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-61257 (JP 7-61257 A), a device is known that displays the virtual image of an obstacle on a head-up display (HUD) to alert the driver when an obstacle, such as a pedestrian, is detected ahead of the host vehicle. This device detects the direction of the line of sight of the driver, detects the frequency with which the line of sight of the driver is directed to the virtual image of an obstacle and, according to the detected frequency, changes the brightness level of the virtual image of the obstacle.
The device described above uses the whole windshield as the HUD display screen. When such a large display area is not reserved, an icon such as an arrow indicating the direction in which the obstacle is present is displayed to guide the line of sight of the driver toward the direction in which the obstacle is present.
However, when obstacles are detected in a plurality of directions and, as a result, the directions, each indicating the direction in which an obstacle is present, arc displayed at the same time, there is a possibility that the alert to the driver is not appropriate.